Maintaining Comfortable Vision

Good visual habits can reduce eye stress. Closer activities require more visual effort than using our distance vision. We use our focussing ability to maintain clear vision at near, and this system can become excessively fatigued with overuse. Keep your eyes comfortable by following these tips:

Don't hold your book or mobile phone too close

Our eyes have to work harder when we hold things too close. An ideal distance is 40cm for adults and 25-30cm for children. Pulling work closer as we become tired is a common bad habit.

Good lighting

Good lighting for all near work is important. Keep the room lights on to read at night, and during the day open the curtains.

Rest your eyes every hour

When reading, using a computer or watching movies on a tablet you should give your eyes a rest every hour. This should be 15 minutes for children and at least 5 minutes for adults. The rest should be spent using your distance vision, so go make a coffee or go outside.

Learn to take regular breaks

During study, computer work and other sustained close work take regular rest periods. Look at something in the distance every 15 minutes. Put children's desks under their window with the curtains open, so they can look outside.

Don't sit too close to the TV

Young children naturally want to sit close to the TV because they want to be involved. The ideal distance for young children is at least 2 body lengths away from the screen.

Reduce Glare

Modern screen technology use LED and fluorescent light sources which can create uncomfortable glare. An anti-reflective coating on your glasses will reduced reflections and increases comfort.Protect your eyes from the harmful UV rays of the sun with sunglasses.

Proper Computer setup

Poor lighting, glare on the monitor, sitting at an incorrect viewing distance and poor seating posture all contribute to computer vision syndrome. Set up the computer monitor so you can sit upright with good posture and see the screen at a comfortable viewing distance (50-80cm). Check the lighting is bright enough and position lights so they don't create glare on the screen.